Who will succeed Karzai?
Nine out of 26 initial candidates are in the race for the Afghan presidential election due on April 5. The list consists of both Karzai loyalists and opponents, technocrats and a former insurgent, but no woman candidate.
Zalmai Rassoul - The royal loyalist
Rassoul was Afghanistan’s foreign minister until the autumn of 2013 and had previously worked for several years as Karzai's security adviser. Prior to 2001, he worked for late Afghan King Zahir Shah in Rome. Rassoul is close to President Karzai and can be sure of securing his support.
Abdullah Abdullah - The number two
It is not the first time former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah is contesting the vote. In the 2009 presidential election, overshadowed by allegations of forgery and vote-rigging, he came in second place behind Karzai. Ethnic Tajiks form his core support base. The politician established an opposition movement, named "National Coalition of Afghanistan,” aimed against Karzai government.
Ashraf Ghani - The modernizer
Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani was named by the British magazine "Prospect" as one of the leading intellectuals of our time. In the 2009 election, he barely won any votes. In the meantime, the economist has succeeded in expanding his support base. Ashraf has also joined hands with the notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum who will be his running mate in the presidential election.
Gul Agha Sherzai - The bulldozer
Sherzai ("son of the lion" in Pashto) fought against the Soviets in Kandahar and became the governor of the province for a short period of time after the fall of the Taliban. As Minister of Urban Development, he got the nickname "bulldozer." He opened the important road link between Jalalabad and Torkham, one of the major border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf - The Islamist
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf wants Afghanistan to be an "Islamic Republic." Counter-terrorism experts believe Sayyaf had close links to al Qaeda's founder Osama bin Laden during the 80s and early 90s. Warlord Ismail Khan from Herat province, who controls large parts of western Afghanistan with his militias, is one of his running mates in the election.
Qutbuddin Helal - The former insurgent
Helal is a supporter of the "Hizb-i-Islami" Islamist party headed by former Afghan premier and militant Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. While the party has been fighting the Karzai administration, it also has followers within the Kabul government. The "Hizb-i-Islami" is believed to be the country's second strongest insurgency movement behind the Taliban.
Hedayat Amin Arsala - The government loyalist
In 1969, Arsala became the first Afghan to assume a position at the Word Bank. He worked closely with Hamid Karzai during the transition period following the fall of the Taliban. He was finance minister in Karzai's first cabinet. In order to run for president, he resigned from his post as "senior minister" in October 2013.
Sardar Mohammad Nader Naeem - The royalist
Nader Naeem is a distant relative of the last Afghan King Zahir Shah. He is also the grandson of former Afghan premier Mohammed Daoud Khan, who toppled Zahir Shah in 1973. Experts doubt whether the computer scientist will be able to enthrall young voters.
Daoud Sultanzoy - The latecomer
The member of parliament and former pilot has his own show on Afghanistan's most popular television channel. Sultanzoy's candidacy was not accepted at first due to a controversy related to dual citizenship. He was confirmed as the eleventh and last presidential candidate in late November 2013.